Steinhoff Austrian unit secures money for up to 24 months

JOHANNESBURG - Steinhoff’s Austrian unit Kika/Leiner has secured enough money to keep going for up to 24 months and plans to invest in its logistics and online presence to ensure growth, its managing director said.

Steinhoff, which owns more than 40 brands including Poundland in Britain, admitted accounting irregularities last month, sparking an 85 percent share price slide that wiped more than $10 billion off its market capitalisation.

“We intensively negotiated with our parent company in South Africa in the past weeks,” Gunnar George said at a news conference in Vienna. “We found a solution that secures us liquidity for the next 12 to 24 months.”

George said expanding its online presence, improving its logistics and making sure every single branch worked efficiently were the top priorities in the coming months.